z 
Z52 

J6U6 


UL-wriLr 


B   M   ITE   517 


s'iiil 


SPECIAL  REPORT 


RELATIVE  TO 


PUBLIC   DOCUMENTS. 


JOHN    a.  A.MES, 

STJPEEINTENDENT  OF  DOCUMENTS,  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTEKIOE. 


WASHINGTOJS^: 

GOVEBIOIENT   PRINTING   OFFICE. 

1894. 


SPECIAL  REPORT 


KELATIVE  TO 


PUBLIC  DOCUMEI^TS 


BY 


JOHN   a.  ^INdCES, 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  DOCUMENTS,  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  IXTERIOR. 


WASHINGTOi^: 

GOVERNIVIENT    PRINTING    OFFICE. 
1894. 


SPECIAL  REPORT  RELATIVE  TO  PUBLIC  DOCU- 
MENTS. 


Department  of  the  Interioe, 

Washington^  November  20^  1894. 

Sir:  Referring  to  your  verbal  request  for  an  expression  of  my  views 
relative  to  the  subject  of  public  documents  in  general,  and  especially 
to  the  system  and  regulations  governing  their  distribution,  I  beg  leave 
to  submit  the  following  remarks : 

The  custom  of  issuing  documents  at  the  public  expense  for  distri- 
bution among  the  people  has  prevailed  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
and  their  nund)er  has  increased  with  the  increase  of  population  until 
the  Government  Printing  Office  has  become  the  largest  publishing 
house  in  the  world,  the  product  of  its  presses  amounting  to  more  than 
1,000, 000  volumes  annually.  From  the  beginning,  however,  there  seems 
to  liave  been  no  serious  attempt  on  the  part  of  any  one  to  present  pub- 
lic documents  in  an  attractive  form  as  to  their  general  make-up,  and 
especially  their  binding,  nor  to  establish  any  thoroughly  good  system 
of  classihcation  and  indexing,  nor  to  introduce  anything  like  business 
jjrinciples  into  the  work  of  their  distribution. 

In  considering  this  matter  the  question  is  at  once  suggested  whether 
the  benefits  which  have  accrued  to  the  public  from  the  printing  and 
distribution  of  documents  Justify  the  large  exi^enditures  involved,  and 
whether  the  publications  of  the  Government  are  of  sufficient  value  to 
warrant  the  continuance  of  these  expenditiires.  It  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  in  the  popular  estimation  public  documents  have  held,  and 
to  a  large  degree  still  continue  to  hold,  a  very  low  place.  They  have, 
to  be  sure,  been  willingly  received  by  citizens,  because  they  have  been 
gratuitously  supplied;  but  to  how  many  the  mere  fact  that  a  volume  is 
a  public  document  carries  with  it  the  conclusion  that  it  is  of  no  prac- 
tical value,  except  as  an  evidence  that  the  reci[)ient  is  borne  in  thought- 
fnl  and  kindly  remembrance  by  some  member  of  Congress  or  other 
officer  of  the  Government,  or  as  it  helps  to  fill  a  place  in  the  bookcase 
that  would  otherwise  renuiin  vacant.  And  yet  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  no  series  of  publications  of  greater  intrinsic  value  issue  from  any 
publishing  house  than  from  tlie  Government  Printing  Office  of  the 
United  States.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  are  expended  every 
year,  and  hundreds  of  experts  in  their  several  departments  are  con- 
stantly employed,  in  prosecuting  scientific  research  in  many  directions, 
in  exi^lorations,  in  careful  investigations  of  economic  and  social  ques- 
tions, in  experiments  conducted  after  the  most  approved  modern 
methods,  all  having  practical  ends  in  view  and  designed  to  promote 
the  general  material  and  social  welfare,  and  it  can  not  be  otherwise 
than  that  the  results  of  tliese  researches,  as  detailed  in  the  reports  of 
such  competent  investigators,  possess  a  value  nuu-h  beyond  that  usually 
assigned  to  public  documents. 


4  SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS. 

The  pnblicatious  oftlie  Geological  Survey,  the  Smithsoiiiau  Institu- 
tiou,  the  Natioual  Museum,  the  Coiinnis«ion  of  Fish  and  Fisheries,  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  the  Census  Office, 
the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  the  Bureau  of  American  Kepublics,  Consular 
Eeports,  and  the  reports  of  the  iSTational  Academy  of  Sciences,  the 
American  Historical  Association,  and  of  the  several  international  expo- 
sitions, not  to  mention  other  documents — nearly  all  the  work  of  special- 
ists— contain  a  mass  of  important  information  not  elsewhere  accessible, 
ruaking  these  publications  works  of  permanent  interest  and  standard 
reference.  The  regular  and  special  reports  of  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture are  becoming  increasingly  valuable  as  bearing  upon  the  develop- 
ment of  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  country,  suggesting  and  open- 
ing the  way  to  the  establishment  of  new  industries,  protecting  against 
fraud  and  adulteration,  and  so,  in  manifold  ways,  encouraging  and 
affording  aid  to  tliat  largest  element  in  our  population — those  whose 
support  and  prosperity  depend  upon  the  products  of  the  forest  and  field. 

The  Dei)artment  of  Labor,  by  its  investigations,  is  accumulating  a 
store  of  facts,  set  forth  in  its  reports,  which,  to  the  student  of  social 
science,  is  replete  with  interest,  and  which  will  materially  assist  in 
solving  certain  social  questions  and  those  growing  out  of  the  relations 
of  capital  and  labor  whicli  are  now  pressing  for  consideration. 

Of  the  reports  of  other  departments  and  offices  of  the  Government, 
many  abound  in  information  of  practical  importance  much  beyond  and 
very  different  from  the  mere  detail  of  their  annual  operations,  while 
many  of  the  reports  of  special  commissions  and  of  committees  of  the 
two  Houses  of  Congress  present  the  results  of  the  most  thorough  and 
often  exhaustive  examination  of  subjects  civil,  financial,  social,  and 
economic,  with  which  the  well-being  of  the  whole  nation  is  intimatelj^ 
asvsociated. 

These  publications,  so  full  of  interest  and  so  important  for  present 
use  and  future  reference,  comprise  a  very  large  portion  of  current  pub- 
lic documents. 

Why  is  it,  then,  that  the  name  "public  document"  suggests  to  so 
many  a  volume  dull,  uninteresting,  unprofitable;  a  volume  which,  if  it 
could  not  be  had  gratuitously,  would  not  be  worth  procuring  at  all  ? 

GRATUITOUS  DISTRIBUTION. 

Possibly  the  very  fact  that  they  have  been  given  away  in  sucli  vast 
numbers  has  had  not  a  little  to  do  with  the  low  estimate  placed  upon 
them.  That  which  costs  nothing  is  usually  little  valued,  and  it  is  not 
irrational  to  suppose  that  when  documents  are  pressed  upon  the  people 
as  a  gratuity  many  of  them  come  naturally  to  think  that  what  is  so 
freely  bestowed  is  of  small  worth.  This  prejudiced  conclusion  is,  how- 
ever, undoubtedly  decreasing,  and  the  number  of  those  Avho  by  careful 
reading  of  public"  documents  learn  to  appreciate  them  at  their  real  value 
is  year  by  year  on  the  increase. 

UNATTRACTIVE  BINDING. 

Another  cause  of  the  popular  impression  regarding  ])ublic  documents 
is  the  forbidding  aspect  which  they  to  so  great  an  extent  present.  In 
a  miscellaneous  collection  of  books'^  it  would  not  ordinarily  be  dilficult 
to  detect  any  chance  public  documents  from  their  mere  external  appear- 
ance, so  often  in  unfavorable  contrast  with  surrounding  volumes.  Pri- 
vate publishers  vie  with  each  other  in  endeavors  to  make  their  publica- 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS.  5 

tious  attractive  to  the  eye,  understaudiug-  well  that  thus  attention  to 
their  contents  is  not  infrequently  secured.  It  is,  of  course,  essential 
that  no  extravagant  expenditure  be  incurred  in  producing  public  docu- 
ments; but  it  is  doubtless  true  that  at  little  or  no  additional  expense 
many  of  the  publications  of  the  Government  could  be  issued  in  a  more 
attractive  style  than  has  hitherto  characterized  them. 

A  tasteful  variety  in  the  color  of  the  binding  of  different  series  of 
documents,  with  uniformity  in  the  color  of  those  of  the  same  series 
from  year  to  year,  would  be  a  slight  improvement  upon  past  custom, 
though  of  late  attention  has  evidently  been  given  to  this  point.  A  set 
of  the  animal  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  in  uniform  style 
of  binding  is  more  attractive  than,  and  for  this  reason  preferable  to,  a 
set  one  volume  of  which  is  in  red,  another  in  black,  and  another  in  green. 
The  same  is  true  of  other  documents.  To  be  sure,  this  is  of  minor 
importance;  but  whatever  will  secure  increased  attention  to  public 
documents  and  secure  for  them  a  permanent  place  upon  the  library 
shelf  is  deserving  of  consideration.  In  particular,  however,  it  is 
believed  that  some  advantageous  change  can  readily  be  made  in  the 
binding  and  general  make  up  of  what  is  known  as  the  "reserved 
edition,"  from  which  all  de])ositories  of  public  documents  are  supplied. 
Everyone  is  familiar  with  these  heavy  "full  sheep"  volumes,  and 
knows  what  appearance  they  present  when  massed  upon  the  shelves  of 
our  public  libraries.  Tiiat  anything  popularly  entertaining  or  inter- 
esting or  profitable  is  to  be  found  within  their  covers  would  not  be 
inferred,  more  than  within  the  covers  of  a  .series  of  volumes  of  legal 
lore.  To  bind  in  half  morocco  or  half  Russia  would  be  little  if  any 
more  expensive,  but  it  would  seem  to  i)nt  these  publications  almost  out 
of  the  category  of  public  documents,  so  great  a  divergence  from  the 
stereotyped  style  would  they  ])resent.  To  reduce,  on  the  average,  by 
one-third  the  size  of  the  volumes  would  be  another  material  improve 
ment,  thus  bringing  them  Avithin  the  range  of  convenient  manipulation 

MULTIPLICITY  OF  EDITIONS. 

Another  source  of  great  confusion  and  annoyance  to  those  having 
occasion  to  consult  public  documents  is  the  multiplicity  of  editions  of 
many  of  the  most  important  publications  of  the  Government,  issued  in 
different  styles  of  binding,  with  varying  title  pages  and  back  titles,  so 
that  one  may  possess  three  or  four  copies  of  the  same  work  without 
discovering  from  their  outward  api)earance  tiiat  they  are  all  the  same 
document.  This  is  true  of  many  of  the  annual  reports  of  the  execu- 
tive offices,  and  to  a  less  degree  of  the  scientific  i)ublications  of  the 
Government.  The  fornier  are  all  embraced  in  the  executive  documents 
of  Congress,  bound  in  leather,  with  a  special  front  and  back  title. 
They  appear  again  in  an  edition  kmiwn  as  Message  and  Documents, 
correspondingly  backed.  Once  more  they  are  issued  in  a  departmental 
edition,  as  reports  of  the  Secretary  of,  etc.,  volumes  1,  2,  etc.,  and 
lastly,  many  of  them  are  published  in  a  bureau  edition  as  reports  of 
the  chief  of  the  bureau,  with  an  ai)propiiate  title. 

This  multiplicity  of  editions  is  the  bane  of  librarians  and  indexers. 
It  prevents  any  satisfactory  classification  and  arrangement  of  these 
documents  upon  the  librai'y  shelves,  as  it  so  often  hap))ens  that  one 
volume  of  a  series  is  of  one  edition  and  the  next  of  another;  and  so  it 
is  not  surprising  that  sometimes  an  ordinary  librarian  in/lespair  is 
disposed  to  reject  all  public  documents,  while  the  labor  of  preparing  a 
satisfactory  general  index  is  so  increased  that  any  one  nury  well  hesi- 
tate to  enter  upon  the  undertaking. 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS. 


I  have  before  ine  now  four  volumes  of  wliich  tlie  back  titles  read  as 
follows : 


UNITED  STATES 

GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 

J.   W.   Powell, 

Director. 

Eleventh 

Amiiial   Report. 

1889-'90. 

Part  1. — Geolojrv. 


REPORT 

of  the 

SECRETARY 

of  the 

INTERIOR. 

Vol.  4. 

Part  1. 

1890. 


MESSAGE 

and 

DOCUMENTS 

INTERIOR  DEPARTMENT. 

Vol.  4. 

Part  1. 

1890-91. 


Report 

of  the 

Director 

of  the 

United  States 

Geological 

Snrvey. 


HOUSE 
EXECUTIVE 

DOCUMENTS. 

2d  Session  51st  Congress. 
1890-'91. 
Vol.   U. 


Eleventh 

Annual  Report 

of  the 

Geological  Survey. 

Part  1.— Geology. 


A  casual  glance  at  the  volumes  would  not  show  what  a  more  careful 
scrutiny  discloses,  that  they  are  all  one  and  the  same  work.  This  is 
but  one  of  a  multitude  of  documents  to  which  the  same  confusion 
attaches. 

Another  evil  resulting  from  this  multiplicity  of  editions  is  that  in 
many  ca^cs  the  same  work  is  sent  in  duplicate  and  tiii)licate  to  the  same 
person,  under  the  im])ression  that  lie  is  beinj;-  supplitNl  with  diflerent 
]>ublicatioiis.  as  Senators  and  Keiuesentatives  themselves  sometimes 
fail  to  recoo'nize  the  same  volume  under  its  several  desiiiiiations. 

The  remedy  for  this  evil  would  seem  to  be  comparatively  simple.  Let 
but  one  edition  of  any  document  be  issued,  or  let  all  editions  of  the 
same  document  be  ])ractically  reduced  to  one  by  havin^ii'  them  all  titled 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS.  7 

and  backed  in  the  same  maiiiier.  Let  the  appropriate  name,  that  which 
most  accnrately  <lescribes  its  contents  and  distinguishes  it  from  other 
documents,  be  put  upon  the  baclv  of  every  copy  issued,  so  that  it  can 
be  identified  at  a  glance.  If  additional  title  on  the  back  is  required,  as 
in  the  executive  or  miscellaneous  documents  of  Congress,  let  it  be  evi- 
dently subordinate  to  the  chief  title,  and  not  be  made  an  obstacle  to  the 
identification  of  the  volume.  These  remarks,  of  course,  apply  to  docu- 
ments homogeneous  in  their  general  character,  and  of  sufticient  size  to 
form  each  a  volume  by  itself,  as  it  would  be  manifestly  impracticable 
to  deal  in  the  manner  suggested  with  volumes  made  up  of  a  number  of 
separate  and  distinct  documents,  such  as  compose  a  large  portion  of 
the  executive  and  miscellaneous  documents  and  reports  of  committees 
of  the  two  Houses  of  Congress. 

It  is,  however,  worthy  of  consideration  whether  it  would  not  be  wise 
to  bind  separately  every  document  sufficiently  large  to  form  a  volume 
of  convenient  size,  instead  of  combining-  them,  as  is  so  often  done  in 
the  leather-bound  series,  into  unwieldly  tomes,  bringing  within  the 
same  covers  documents  as  irrelevant  and  diverse  as  a  report  on  Indian 
disbursements  and  the  Annual  IJeportof  the  Commissioner  of  Patents, 
or  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Director  of  the  Mint  and  a  report  on 
the  loss  of  the  steamer  Jcannefte,  or  Revision  of  the  Rules  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  and  Geological  History  of  Lake  Lahouton.  If  seri- 
ous attention  were  given  to  it  by  those  having  authority  in  the  prem- 
ises, this  whole  matter  could  be  readily  and  satisfactorily  adjusted.  It 
is  certain  that  if  this  were  done  it  would  in  many  ways  enlarge  the  use 
and  increase  the  value  of  i)ublic  documents. 

CLASSIFICATION   OF   DOCUMENTS. 

The  publications  of  the  Government  known  as  Congressional  docu- 
ments, which  embrace  all  the  annual  reports  of  the  Executive  Depart- 
ments and  offices  of  the  Government  and  all  other  reports  submitted  by 
them,  and  including  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  all  public  documents, 
are  now  divided  into  executive  documents,  miscellaneous  documents, 
and  reports  of  committees  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives. 
This  classification  has  been  in  vogue  for  forty  years,  and  has  therefore 
become  familiar  to  all  parties  accustomed  to  consult  them;  but  on 
general  principles,  the  simpler  the  classification  of  documents  the  more 
convenient  will  reference  to  and  the  indexing  of  them  be  found.  I  see 
no  necessity  for  the  division  of  documents  into  executive  aiid  miscel- 
laneous, or  any  decided  advantage  resulting  from  this  classification; 
nor  can  any  good  reason  be  given  in  many  cases  for  assigning  docu- 
ments to  one  class  rather  than  to  the  other;  as,  for  example,  why  the 
Annual  Report  of  the  Director  of  the  Geological  Survey  should  be 
assigned  to  the  executive  ^document  class  and  the  Annual  Report  of 
the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  to  the  miscellaneous  document  class,  or  why 
the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Fi-sh  and  Fisheries  should  be  classed 
as  a  miscellaneous  document  instead  of  an  executive  document.  Many 
other  instances  of  this  kind  can  readily  be  cited. 

It  is  suggested,  therefore,  that  the  executive  and  miscellaneous  doc- 
uments of  each  House  of  Congress  be  consolidated,  and  that  they  be 
designated,  res])ectively.  Senate  documents  and  House  documents. 
There  will  then  be  two  classes  for  each  House,  viz.,  Senate  documents. 
Senate  rei)!)rrs;  House  documents,  House  re]iorts.  Then  let  a  series  of 
numbers  be  arranged  Avhich  shall  be  uniformlv  given  to  certain  annual 


Vol      1    X.-      .  HOUSE  DOCUMEXTS. 


^'Ol.     1    No      1        P        ■  ,  '''''''^''   ^OCUMEXTS. 

Vol.    3,  No     q      n         "^     ^^<''''»t">»«  (St;if(WWo  * 

Vol     9  No    Q      ,"^ent).'*^'^°"''"^««'«"er  of  Inter  J£,S^^^^^^^ 

Vo;.-10:No:io'-     ^2^^  «r«-  coast  and  O......  .  "  ^^^^^"'^^  ^^P-t" 

Vol.ll,No.li. 
Vol.  12,  No.  12 
Vo|.  13,  No.  13.' 


Report  of  the  Comntmli        .  '-'''^^^^  ( ^^^asury  Depart- 

Report  of  the  Coast  and  r.    w  (Treasury  Depart- 

IIP  siiiissr  ~'^- 

Vol.  20.  N^o  90      T>  ^         "I  riie  oecretaiv  r,f  +i,     t    , 

Vol.  21  No' I?-     iT^*  "^"  tl^e  Wrecto  .^^^^^^./"^erior,  Parts  1,  2,  etc 

Vol.  22,  No.  2i'     L   or    of  If'  .'^'"^^^^  Re«oi  -c^s  ^f  «:  ««\o8:ieal  ^„Cy. 

VoL-'^No  lo      vT'l  '1-  *^«  CiJi  S-iceTon?"'^  Connnission. 
Vol.  31  No  31      5?P°'*  «^  *l^e  Sn.ithson  .'  jnT."'!- -'""• 

The  Simplicity  of  fl  .  "'  "^^'^-olo.y,  etc. 

-itli  that  l?ow  ir/ogt  t?oT  ^^^  --P^---I  by  patting  it  i 

Vol.   1  No  1  Pt         "^"^' as  follows:  "^^  ^^^^^'^'"g:  It  lu  contrast 

Vol.  2,'  No"  l'  Pf'  9'  ^oi'eiffu  Kelations  of  th^  tt   -^    , 

Vol.  3   No   1    pf-  9-  ^^P«^t  of  Secretary  of  \vV"\*?'   '^^''^tes. 

Vol.  4   No '  1    P+   o  ^^P^'"*  of  Secretarv  nf  ^^r  *'"'  7"1- 1- 

Vol.  5  1°:    ;k*-'-  j?r^*«^"SeeS;?of'y.:^';°;-|'Pt-l.     Engineers  Pt   i 

Z'  ?'^l:pt:2:  Sr  ;;;^ri^-yof^j;^°[jRj-|.  En^iuSp^s; 

vol.    7,  No.  1,  pf   9      p  '      I^  ^  'secretary  of  War  iri    ,'£*■  •^-     En^^ineer^i  Pf   q 

Vol;  lo':  t  i'  A'-  f  ■  ««K  of  S:;;;^  ;■?  $;;;>■■  vo.\  ""'°^""- 

vo,. .,  P. ,  ,„. ,, ,  p.  I.  ^  _^;--^  «'■»  '-.o.  v„, ,  p, ,  ,„„^.^^^^_^_ 

of  the  Executive  J)iVV'''''l''  '"Nation  of  mo,t  nf  h 

i>ei«,.t,„ente  above  show,"",  V^^o  !  :1"7^'  '"PO'^t, 

'     ^"1'1'ose,  found  iu  tl,e 


SPECIAL    REPORT   RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS!  9 

fact  that  these  reports  are  submitted  to  Congress  by  tlie  President  in 
connection  with  his  animal  message.  It  is,  however,  curious  to  observe 
that  to  the  message  itself  no  distinct  number  is  given,  nor  is  it  even 
indicated,  in  the  notation  or  the  table  of  contents  accompanying  the 
executive  documents,  where  the  message  is  found.  The  fact  above 
noted  does  not  ap])ear  to  aflbrd  any  adequate  reason  whatever  for  con- 
tinuing for  a  single  year  this  cumbersome  system  of  numbering  docu- 
ments. No  advantage  is  gained  by  it.  Kot  one  iierson  in  a  thou- 
sand who  handles  these  documents  understands  the  meaning  of  it.  It 
simply  confuses  and  bewilders,  and  can  well  give  way  to  a  simpler  sys- 
tem and  one  more  readily  coniprehensible  by  all. 

In  my  judgment,  however,  it  would  be  still  better  to  discontinue  the 
classification  of  all  annual  publications  as  executive  and  miscellaneous 
documents  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  It  in  nowise 
facilitates  reference  to  them,  nor  renders  their  identification  more  easy, 
that  these  pnblications  are  so  classified.  In  fact,  there  is  no  evident 
reason  why  one  slionld  be  classed  as  a  Senate  and  another  as  a  House 
document.  They  are  all  submitted  to  Congress  and  are  printed  by  order, 
not  of  the  Senate  or  of  the  House,  but  of  the  Congress.  There  seems, 
therefore,  to  be  no  good  and  satisfactory  reason  why  these  regular 
annual  reports  should  be  designated  as  documents  either  of  the  Senate 
or  of  the  House.  It  would,  I  think,  on  every  consideration,  be  preferable 
that  they  should  be  issued  as  separate  and  distinct  series,  with  uniform 
title  page  and  back  title,  excepting  the  date,  so  that  each  Dei)artment 
or  bureau  series  could  be  arranged  by  itself,  if  desired.  The  following 
examples  embody  the  above  suggestion : 

PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE  THE  STATE 

and  of  the 

FOREIGN  RELATIONS.  FINANCES. 


1891.  1891. 


St  ite  Department.  Treasury  Department. 


REPORT  CONSULAR  REPORTS. 

"^'  t^«  '        Vol.  39. 

COMMISSIONER 

Nos.  140  to  143. 

ixd.anIfi-airs.  may  to  august, 

1891.  1892. 

Interior  Department.  State  Department. 


10 


SPECIAL    KEPORT   RELATIVE    TO    PrHT  T.    r 

'^    lO    PLBLIC    DOCUxMENTS 
KEPORT 

KKPORT 
of  the 

ofthe 

DIRECTOR 

SECRETARY 

of  the 
UNITED  STATE8 
GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY. 
1891— Vol.  1. 


luterior  Departmeut. 


of 
WAR, 
with 
Appendixes. 
1891 


War  Department. 


In  contrast  with  these,  the  following  shows  the  stvl.  • 

Hon«E  ^^"-'^  the  styie  now  in  force 


HOUSE 

EXECUTIVE 

DOCUxMENTS, 

l«t  Sess.  52d  Cong-. 
1891-'92.  . 
Vol.  1. 

FOREIGN  RELATIONS 
of  the 
UNITED  STATE«. 
1891. 

HOUSE 

EXECUTIVE 

DOCUMENTS, 

Ist  Se.ss.  52(1  Cong. 

1891-'92. 

Vol.  5. 

K'Kl'ORT 

of  the 

SECRETARY  op  war. 

VoL  2— l,s<)i. 
ENGINEERS-Part  3. 


HOUSE 
MISCELLANEOUS 
DOCUMENTS, 

3 St  Sess.  52d  Cong. 
1891-'92. 
Vol.  49. 

CONSULAR  REPORTS, 

Nos.  140  to  14?. 

1892. 

HOUSE 

EXECUTIVE 

DOCUMENTS, 

1st  Sess.  52d  Cong. 

1891-'92. 

Vol.  17. 

RKPOPT 

of  the 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR. 

1891. 

GEOLOGY-Part  4. 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS.  11 

Should  these  suggestions  be  adopted,  all  tlie  annual  rei)orts  in  ques- 
tion would  be  excluded  ironi  the  category  of  executive  or  miscellaneous 
documents,  leaving  to  be  included  in  the  sim])le  classification  ot  Senate 
and  House  documeuts  only  such  communications  as  should,  from  time 
to  time,  be  submitted  to  either  House  from  the  Executive  Dei)artments 
or  froui  other  sources.  The  number  of  volumes  which  these  documents 
would  annually  form  would  be  very  small. 

UNBOUND   DOCUMENTS. 

A  large  and  needless  waste  in  the  matter  of  public  documents  is 
occasioned  by  the  enormous  issue  of  unbound  copies  which  takes  place 
under  i)reseiit  regulations. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  many  documents  must  be  delivered  in 
unbound  form  for  the  immediate  use  of  Congress  in  current  legisla- 
tion, but  in  the  aggregate  these  form  only  a  small  portion  of  those 
thus  issued,  chieHy  reports  of  committees  and  certain  of  the  current 
executive  and  miscellaneous  documents.  r>ut  that  000  or  TOO  copies 
each  of  the  quarto  voluuies  of  the  Eleventh  Census,  of  liecords  of  the 
Kebellion,  of  the  Official  Kegister  of  the  United  States,  of  the  annual 
reports  of  the  Ikireau  of  Ethnology,  of  the  Geological  Survey,  and  of 
other  costly  scientific  publications  of  the  Government,  and  of  such 
annual  reports  of  Executive  De])artments  as  form  each  a  separate  and 
entire  volume,  should  be  issued  in  unbound  form  for  such  disposition 
as  usually  befalls  these  documents  seems  wholly  unnecessary. 

The  documents  of  the  Fifty-second  Congress,  delivered  in  unbound 
form,  amounted  to  about  140,000  volumes.  Of  these,  more  than  100,000 
were  each  separate  and  distinct  works,  comprising  the  most  valuable 
of  Government  juiblications,  and  which,  had  they  been  bound  before 
leaving  the  Printing  Office,  would  have  been  serviceable  for  distribu- 
tion, and  so  of  valvie  to  the  ])ublic. 

1  am  aware  that  not  a  few  of  these  documents  are  selected  for  bind- 
ing by  members  of  Cungresss  under  the  provision  of  law  allowing  each 
Senator  and  Representative  to  have  bound  in  special  landing,  at  })ub- 
lic  expense,  for  his  own  use,  one  copy  of  each  and  every  document 
issued  during  his  term  of  service.  This,  howe\  er,  by  no  means  exhausts 
the  supply  of  unbound  documents,  esi)ecially  as  each  member  of  Con- 
gress is  sn])plied  with  a  coj^y  of  each  volume  of  Congressional  docu- 
ments, bound  in  full  sheep  or  calf,  for  h's  [)ersonal  use.  Some,  and 
perhai)s  many,  members  are  satisfied  with  this  last  provision  for  their 
own  library,  and  therefore  make  no  demands  upon  the  unbound  collec- 
tion. 

Reform  in  this  matter  will  consist  either  in  largely  reducing  the 
number  issued  unbound,  carefully  discriminating  between  those  that 
are  and  those  that  are  not  required  for  immediate  use  in  legislation,  or 
in  binding  all  documents  which  constitute  each  by  itself  an  independent 
volume  before  they  are  sent  from  the  Printing  Office,  thus  making  them 
available  for  general  distribution. 

A   GENERAL   INDEX. 

Nothing  is  more  imperatively  demanded  in  connection  Mitli  i)ul)lic 
documents  than  a  thorough,  exhaustive,  comprehensive  index.  The 
judgment  of  all  librarians  and  others  who  have  nnich  to  do  with  Gov- 
ernment publications  is  voiced  by  the  director  of  the  Xew  York  State 
library,  who  says: 


^mm 


12  SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS. 

Ill  view  of  the  euDrmoiis  ;i  iioiiiit  of  iiioue.y  spent  by  the  General  fjDveriitncnt  on 
piiblii-  ])rintiiig,  it  seems  strau'^e  that  proper  ))r<)vision  for  expert  iudexiii.ij;  has  uot 
yet  lieeii  male.  I  should  he  willing  to  un<lertake  to  prove  before  a  fair  and  <-om])e- 
tent  jury  that  it  wonld  be  an  enormous  jrain  in  the  practical  v^alue  of  our  ])uhlic 
documents  if  tliey  conld  be  satisfactorily  indexed  by  an  expert,  even  if  the  number 
of  coiJies  publislii'd  were  reduced  so  as  to  save  twenty  times  the  c^st  of  the  in<lex- 
inu'.  The  triliing  exjiense  is  the  only  conceivalih;  <)l)jection  to  having  this  work 
jtroperly  done,  and  if  the  United  States  is  too  poor  to  ])ay  for  it  they  can  make  a 
specific  economy  by  doing  the  two  things  for  which  there  is  a  constantly  growing 
demand  from  intelligent  users:  (1)  Indexing  the  documents  properly;  (2)  distrib- 
uting them  systematically  to  the  libraries  of  the  country.  Half  the  number  by  this 
method  would  do  live  times  the  good. 

And  by  the  librarian  of  the  Apprentices'  Library,  Xew  York  City, 
who,  rc'ferrinj;'  to  this  subject,  uses  the  following  language: 

It  is  high  time  something  was  done  to  ])rovi<le  a  clew  to  the  many  valuable  works 
now  buried  in  the  literary  labyriutli  called  "public  documents."  With  a  general 
index  to  all  jiubiic  docuun'uts  heretofore  i)ublished,  on  some  simple  and  easily  under- 
stood method  of  classiticatiou  by  subjects,  librarians  would  frequently  be  able  to  put 
these  (iovcrnment  publications  to  good  use.  As  it  is,  neither  the  lil)rarian  nor  the 
reader  knows  what  they  contain,  and  there  is  no  way  of  finding  it  out.  The  conse- 
((Uence  is,  that,  in  the  nuijority  of  cases,  public  documents  are  practically  a  useless 
incumbrance  to  a  library.  Yet  no  librarian  would  do  without  them,  for  he  hopes 
that  some  day  a  ke.v  will  be  provided  which  will  unlock  their  treasures. 

A  comprehensive  index  of  all  public  documents  would  remedy  the 
evils  of  which  these  gentlemen  speak,  and  would  increase  immensely 
their  use.  and,  therefore,  their  value  to  the  public.  It  is  no  wonder  that 
comi)aratively  few  arc  willing  to  take  the  time  and  ti'ouble  to  trace  the 
discussion  of  any  jmrticnlar  subject  as  presented  in  these  i)ublicatious, 
or  even  to  search  for  a  single  j)apcr  that  is  known  to  be  embraced  in 
some  volnme  of  this  lengthening  series,  nor  that  librarians  are  so  often 
confused  and  j)erplcxed  when  asked  where  such  papers  are  to  be  found. 
The  very  multiplicity  of  documents  published  makes  such  an  index  an 
imi)erative  necessity,  if  these  documents  are  to  any  large  extent  to  be 
utilized  and  to  subserve  the  purjioses  for  which  they  are  printed  and 
distributed.  It  should  be  prepared  after  methods  approved  by  the 
best  indcxers,  and  wet-k  by  week,  as  documents  are  published,  so  that 
with  the  asseaibling  of  Congress  each  year  the  index  of  all  documents 
issued  during  the  preceding  tiscal  year  may  be  ready  for  the  use  of 
Senators  and  Rci)resentatives,  and  of  all  others  interested. 

Provision  should  be  made  for  extending  this  index  backward  over 
the  documents  of  preceding  (congresses  until  it  shall  embrace  all  the 
publi«'ations  of  the  Crovcrnment  from  the  beginning. 

The  index  whiih  I  have  recently  prepared  of  documents  issued  dur- 
ing the  period  coverc<l  by  the  Fifty-first  and  Fifty-second  Congresses, 
and  which  will  soon  be  ]>ublished,  is  an  etfort  in  this  direction,  and 
will.  I  trust,  ])rove  an  eliicient  suggestion  as  to  the  general  form  in 
which  an  index  satisfactoiT  to  all  may  be  embodied. 

UNDISTK  IBUTED    DOCX'MENTS. 

It  is  estimated  that  I  here  now  remain  in  the  varions  document  store- 
rocmis,  especially  those  about  the  Capitol,  not  less  than  I.()(K).OOU  vol- 
umes of  public  documents,  which  rei)rescnt  the  undistributed  accunui- 
lations  of  many  years.  Some  of  these  date  back  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury. They  embrace  all  classes  of  documents,  and  are.  of  course,  as 
individual  volumes,  of  greatly  varying  value.  The  great  mass  of  them, 
however,  are  ]>r()bably  of  very  little  worth  for  distribution*  among  the 
public  at  large.  Few  citizens  would  care  to  receive  these  old  publica- 
tions, and  if  distributed  [>romiscnously.  as  are  many  documents,  they 


SPECIAL    RVA'OhT    JiKI^ATIVE    TO    PUHLKJ    DOCUMENTS.  13 

will  be  .sini])ly  tliiouii  away.  ]>y  far  the  most  advantageous  disposition 
tliut  can  Ix'  made  of  these  dociim(Mits  is  to  u>e  them,  first,  to  supply  defi- 
cieucies  in  the  ])ublie,  university,  and  collej^e  libraries  of  the  country; 
secondly,  to  make  them  the  nuclei  of  new  public  libraries  in  comnumi- 
ties  where  no  libraries  now  exist,  and  to  this  extent  encourage  the  for- 
mation of  new  libraries.  For  these  purposes  tliis  great  collection  of  old 
documents  is  most  valuable.  If  they  are  allowed  to  be  scattered  by  an 
indiscriminate  distribution,  no  such  opi)ortunity  to  benefit  libraries, 
and  the  })u])lic  through  tliem,  is  likely  ever  again  to  ooa-wv. 

To  accomplish  this  en<l,  however,  tijey  should  all  be  turned  over  to 
someone  ofhcer  of  the' Government,  who  shall  be  resfjonsible  for  the 
distribution  of  the  entire  number,  and  shall  see  that  each  State  receives 
its  equitable  share,  and  that  the  <locuments  are  most  advantageously 
placed  for  reaching  the  public  at  ihrge.  It  is  because  1  believe  this  to 
be  by  far  the  best  use  that  can  be  made  of  these  old  documents  that  I 
regret  the  provision  in  the  printing  bill  now  before  Congress  which 
turns  them  all  over  pro  rata  to  the  members  of  the  i>resent  Congiess. 
Of  course,  no  individual  Congress  has  any  claim  u]Jon  them  It  is  only 
a  question  of  how  most  advantageoush'  to  dispose  of  them,  which 
ought  to  be  done  at  once,  as  at  j>resent  they  serve  no  good  jmipose,  but 
are  only  an  incumbrance.  Undoubtedly  under  the  pro%isions  of  the 
bill  referred  to,  some,  perhai^s  many,  of  the^e  volun  es  will  find  their 
way  into  public  libraries,  but  few  membeis  of  Congress,  I  imagine,  will 
be  able  to  take  the  time  and  trouble  to  ascertain  whether  the  libraries 
to  which  they  may  transmit  a  i>ortion  of  their  quota  are  not  already 
supplied  with  these  very  documents.  If  the  distribution  proposed  is 
made,  the  quota  of  each  Senator  and  Eejjresentative  will  be  about  2.000 
volumes,  of  which  I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  not  more  than  one- 
fourth  will  be  of  any  practical  value,  unless  dep.jsited  in  libraries  now 
without  them.  Most  of  them  are  too  antiquated  for  general  distribu- 
tion, and  if  so  distributed  will  soon  find  their  way  to  the  juuk  shop  and 
pai^er  mill. 

A  NEW   DEPAETUEE. 

I  take  the  opportunity,  in  this  connection,  of  saving  that,  in  ray  judg- 
ment, the  time  has  come  for  a  new  and  somewhat  radical  dey>arture  in 
the  whole  matter  of  the  distribution  of  jmblic  do<^:uments.  The  pjres- 
ent  system  involves,  of  necessity,  a  measure  of  injustice  and  partiality, 
and  tends  to  buiden  the  Government  with  an  ever-increasing  exjjendi- 
ture  in  the  way  of  public  printing.  The  edition  of  any  i>articular  doc- 
ument issued,  even  if,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Agricultuial  Eeport,  it  is  no 
less  than  500,000  copies,  suffices  for  supplying  the  volume  to  only  one 
in  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  a  State  or  Congressional  district, 
of  whom  at  least  many  others  are  equally  entitled  to  a  copy.  As  for 
documents  issued  in  editions  of  the  ordinary  number,  very  few  can 
receive  a  copy.  It  is  not  [lossible.  therefore,  to  make  any  equitable  dis- 
tribution of  them  among  the  population,  for  where  only  one  person  can 
be  supphed.  a  score,  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand  more  liave,  on  eyery  proper 
consideration,  an  equally  just  claim  to  the  favor.  The  fjroportion  of  those 
who  can  not  secure  documents  must  also  necessarily  increase  with  the 
increase  of  population,  unless  Congress  is  willing  to  make  constantly 
increasing  appropriations  for  the  printing  of  documents  for  gratuitous 
distribution. 

Constant  discrimination  must,  therefore,  be  practiced  in  the  granting 
of  these  gratuities  at  the  public  exj>ense,  and  it  is  no  unreasonable  or 
unjust  reflection  upon  members  of  Congress  to  suppose  that  in  many 


M  SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    BOCLIMENT« 

1^  eliieti-t;;;^;^,^^:;^,.:^^^^^^^     -  ^^  ^lc  ^.t  place 

to  J )emocmts.  This  rtseVf  U  dl  n  I  ""'/""^  "^  Democratic  dist4'  s 
tributiou  of  Government  nib^  o nr^nn^^^^^'r"  T'  '^^-^^^^^^ 
t.ons  are  regarded  a.s  tl.e  piv^  ill^^'^'^^'';^  "^*^f^^^ '  t^^e^e  publica- 
resentativcto  be  placed  where  i  it  ih?^  ""^  '''''^^  «enator  and  Uen- 
g-ood,  or  to  be  u.sed  i.Aany  ot  fer  n^H  r  h f^  '""■'''  ''f  ^^  ^^'^"  ^^«  tl.e  most 
supposition,  however,  in';-o  ve    'tirde    al'' o?'"'^  "'^^''^^^  ^^^i« 

pr  ncii>le  Oy  which  the  printino-  ad     ?shlL  ?     ^''''''^  argun.ent  and 
pnbhc  docun.ci.ts  has  hither  o  bee      us  m^^^^^  f  ^T*  ^-^^ense,  of 

of  authority  on  tlie  j.art  of  Con-ieVI   fn  o  i  /      V^  ""^''^  ^^^  a>ssuuii,t  on 
sonal  perquisites"  of  its  inembeT-s  ^'^"^  "'^lehnitely  to  tlie  -pei^ 

^^\-^p^^^ o^'a:^^^^  consideration  whether 

properly  and  wisely  be  greatly  rertrced  1  .','i''*''^"^'''''  '"^a^  '^ot 

and  ni  its  place  be  substituted  theiVm^H^  altogether  tern.inated, 

cers  of  the  ^^ove.innent,  for     epos't    "^   d  b'^              ^""''^^  useofoffi-' 
would  suoo-est  that  a  siificienrmm    <       r     ,^^'^"^'''='^'f^f'^rsale.     I 

(Government  be  issued  to  sSVo       n  ""^  ^^'  Publications  of  the 

tnct  and  two  at  large  in  ea  •    ^%e    't^^      "^^  '"  f""^  Congressional  dis 

ibrariestobedesiol,te<l  d^i^^;^^^^^^^^  f  ^^^"^  document,  these 

additional  number  of  all  iiimorf.,,!  o    1  ^    .  'i  <loeumeuts;  and  that  an 

t  le  ,o».,t,  or  to«„,  ,vl,o  will  l,ol,  t hen  f  .  i  '""'?  l""'''^'  "'fi'^^ei'  of 
thus  bnn.,„.  thorn  within  the  Zhfi,  *''?"'"'  <"  "'^  <.-on,mnuitv, 
a.»  It  would  iu  ,„u„v  iustn.Vees    le  5/^  ,f  "'■'*"'*-''''' "''-■■'"niKin^^^^ 

til. tons  .listribution  to  iiiilivi,!,,  l  iibianes  is  mule,  the  "la- 

■-  aheacly  been  appbe        Vl  e  te     •'h!;' n'm^'-^'i'?*^''-     ™'^PrU,^^ 

-^tr  ;-^;;^™,,r  ii;;:uiii£S";l^ '-  -  --  -  "- 

town  ,t  can  not  be  considered  a  1  Mrds  fi  I  f  ^'"^^^"  ^'^'"'''y  ^^^"  ^^^ 
small  price  at  whieh  it  can  be  mr  '  ''^  '  ,^  Y.  ^'  ^'t^'J^ned  to  i,ay  the 
own  pei^sonal  use,  <.ither  beca  J  "^ f  ?^r  ,? ri?"  *^  ''^'^^^^^"^  '^  ^op^ ^r  his 
a  vacant  space  in  his  libr.rv  ease  xU  be  .  T'  ''''^T:''  ^'''"'''''''  '^  tills 
citizens,  and  the  giving.  „f  them  I,.  .  •^^-■f.^'S-  ot  documents  by  our 
cers  of  the  (^oveimmei^,  e  .u  ^^  '  ^,  {i^yll'^'T''' ^''''''y  ^^  ^^■ 
lheretore,.for  both  econemi,..,!        7  .^  '^   demorali;^ing  tendencv 

best  to  discourage  tC^^ir^;;X;/o.^?rf^'  believe^it  would  l^e 
such  provision  that  any  oiu  desiH,  o-  distribution,  and   to  make 

•"anly  way,  secure  theiVby  purd'ai^^  '""'  ^"  '"  "'^^^^P^-'dent  and 


A   BUREAU   OF  DOCUMENTS. 


ter'o'u:;]':;!^ .iii:;;,';:-;-^™; ''f -eh  -«T<'i"«  year  iu  the  u.at- 

conviction  that  the  .-Melelb™'  n       e  si:"  •  .r'^'ll'''  *"  """f,"'  "^ 

tNsuinai,  AMiether  regard  be  had 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS.  15 

to  ecouomy,  or  to  the  jicneral  conveuienc.e,  or  to  approved  business 
methods,  is  the  establishment  of  one  single  bureau  or  office  at  which 
the  whole  business  of  distributing  the  publications  of  the  Government 
issued  for  gratuitous  distribution,  shall  be  conducted.  It  is  doubtful  if 
any  other  instance  can  be  cited  in  the  conduct  either  of  important  pub- 
lic or  private  afiairs  in  which  methods  so  illy  considered,  so  wasteful, 
so  wanting  in  system,  and  in  general  so  vicious,  haveobtained  and  con- 
tinued in  force  year  after  year,  with  no  serious  etitbrt  at  correction. 

The  business  of  publishing  and  distributing  documents  has  grown  to 
large  proportions,  and  every  one  will  admit  that  the  distributing  as  well 
as  the  publishing  should  be  done  on  sound  business  principles.  The 
Government  has  no  money  to  squander  in  this  direction  more  than  in 
the  transaction  of  its  ordinary  executive  business,  over  the  expendi- 
tures for  which  a  most  watchful  supervision  is  exer(;ised. 

The  question  of  how  most  advantageously  to  the  public,  most  eco- 
nomically to  the  Government,  most  conveniently  to  all  concerned,  the 
distribution  of  the  vast  mass  of  public  literature  which  issues  from  the 
Government  Printing  Office  can  be  made,  certainly  deserves  consider- 
ation, and  if  better  methods  than  now  prevail  can  be  suggested,  they 
should  be  adopted  without  delay. 

The  chief  evil  of  the  present  method  is  found  in  the  fact  that  of 
nearly  all  public  documents  there  are  at  least  three,  and  often  four,  dis- 
tinct agencies  of  distribution,  viz.,  the  Senate,  the  House  of  liepresen- 
tatives,  the  department  under  whose  supervision  the  document  is  pre- 
pared, and  the  special  bureaTi  or  office  from  which  it  emanates.  The 
laws  authorizing  the  i)rinting  ot  documents  usually  run  as  follows: 
So  many  copies  for  the  use  of  the  Senate.  S(l  many  for  the  use  of  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives,  and  so  many  for  the  use  of  the  Department 
or  bureau  b^^  which  they  are  prepared.  In  addition  to  this,  each 
De})artment  pul)lishes  an  edition,  large  or  small,  of  its  own  annual 
reports  for  its  own  use.  JSTow,  all  these  distributing  agencies  act  for 
the  most  part  without  any  information  as  to,  or  regard  for,  what  the 
others  are  doing.  One  unavoidable  consequence  is,  that  duplication 
and  tri])lication  of  Government  favors  in  the  form  of  documents,  often 
costly,  exist  to  a  large  degree.  Anotlier  conse([uence  is  the  employ- 
ment of  an  unnecessary  number  of  officers  and  agents  in  transacting 
the  work  of  distribution.  Under  the  present  methods,  the  document 
and  folding  rooms  of  the  Senate  and  House  must  be  nmintained,  and 
corresponding  offices  in  the  several  Executive  J)epartments  and 
bureaus,  each  with  its  equipment  of  officers  and  snboidinates,  when  the 
whole  business  might  and  should  be  conducted  under  the  supervision 
of  a  single  set  of  olticers,  involving,  almost  as  a  matter  of  course,  a  less 
number  of  subordinates  and  largely  reduced  ex[»en(litures. 

A  third  consequence  of  this  multiplicity  of  agents  of  distribuiion  is 
the  scarcely  less  than  general  confusion  that  exists,  as  well  in  the 
minds  ot  members  of  Congress  as  on  the  part  of  the  public  at  large,  as 
to  where  many  Government  publications  are  to  be  obtained,  the  ascer- 
tainment of  which  information  costs  often  not  a  little  tiouble  and  annoy- 
ance. Senators  and  llepresentatives  are  aware  that  attention  to  the 
requests  of  their  constituents  in  the  matter  of  documents  involves 
re])eated  visits  to  or  corres])ondence  with  the  several  Departments  of 
the  (government,  which  they  would  generally,  if  practicable,  gladly 
avoid. 

All  these  and  other  evils  could  in  the  main  be  remedied  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  bureau  of  documents,  under  the  general  management  of  a 
competent  executive  officer,  at  wiiich  the  entirebusiness  of  distributing 
documents,  excepting  such  as  are  required  for  official  use,  should  be 


16  SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS. 

conducted.  This  would  uiake  possible  at  ouce  the  introduction  of 
sound  business  i)iinciples  and  methods  into  the  conduct  of  this  argel 
department  of  i)ublic  affairs,  which  under  existing  conditions  can  not 
possibly  be  done.  It  would  so  centralize  and  systematize  the  whole 
work  as  to  reduce  expenses  to  the  minimum.  It  would  to  a  large  extent 
relieve  the  Capitol  and  the  several  Executive  Departments  of  that  which 
is  now  an  incumbrance  in  the  way  of  nmsses  of  documents  occupying 
rooms  which  are  greatly  needed  for  other  purposes.  It  would  nuike 
possible,  by  a  simple  system  of  registration,  the  prevention  of  all  dupli- 
cation in  the  distribution  of  documents  of  suthcient  value  to  warrant 
the  expense  ot  such  registration,  and  thus  make  a  given  number  of  the 
same  available  for  the  largest  service.  It  would  subserve  the  conven- 
ience of  all  having"  to  do  with  documents,  as  it  would  provide  a  single 
source  from  which  documents  themselves  or  information  regarding 
them  could  always  i)romi)t]y  be  secured.  It  would  relieve  members  of 
Congress  of  much  of  the  trouble  and  annoyance  which  they  now  expe- 
rience, as  it  substitutes  one  i)lace  and  agency  for  dealing  with  this 
whole  question  of  documents,  in  ])hu'e  of  tlie  many  now  existing. 

The  building  for  the  bureau  of  documents  should  be  located  in  imme- 
diate proximity  to  the  Government  Printing  Office,  so  that  from  the 
bindery  all  documents  could  be  transferred  to  it  without  the  employ- 
ment of  wagon  trans])ortation,  thus  avoiding  the  large  exjiense  that 
now  attends  the  delivery  of  documents  to  the  Cai)itol  and  the  Executive 
Departments.  It  should,  however,  beentirely  independent  of  the  Print- 
ing Office,  its  chief  officer  being  appointed  by  the  I'resident  and  con- 
tlrmed  by  the  Senate.  The  two  offices  should  operate  as  checks  upon 
each  other. 

A  branch  post-office  should  be  established  at  the  bureau,  so  that  all 
documents  could  bt  mailed  at  ouce  and  taken  directly  to  the  postal  cars 
at  the  railroad  station,  and  thus  avoid  all  the  expense  of  hauling  them 
to  the  city  post-office  for  mailing,  as  well  as  the  rehandliiig  there 
required.  The  necessity  for  a  new  printing  office  may  make  the  erec- 
tion of  the  necessary  building  for  a  bureau  of  documents  easily  practi- 
cable, aiid  it  may  also  be  found  that  the  building  can  be  so  located  that 
railroad  tracks  can  be  readily  laid  to  the  very  duors  of  the  bureau,  so 
that  documents  could  be  mailed  without  any  wagon  transportation  at 
all. 

It  is  probable  that  few  persons  have  any  adequate  conception  of  the 
amount  of  such  transportation  rendered  necessary  by  the  present  sys- 
tem. It  is  estimated  that  the  weight,  for  instance,  of  the  annual  edi- 
tions of  the  following  publications  exceeds  the  ligures  named : 

Tons. 

Report  of  tho  Secretary  of  Agricnlture 650 

Report  of  tho  Comiiiissioiier  of  Kdiu-ation 60 

Report  of  the  Smithsoiiiaii  Iiistitutioii 50 

Report  of  the  Geological  Survey 120 

Abridgement  of  Message  and  Documents 50 

That  the  weight  of  the  reports  of  the  Eleventh  Census  ^vill  not  be  less  than  1,300 
tons,  nor  that  of  the  entire  edition  of  Rebellion  Records  less  than  2.000  tons.  The 
weight  of  the  "  usual  number  "' edition  of  the  documents  of  the  Fifty-second  Con- 
gress ])rol>ably  exceeds  650  tons,  M'hile  that  of  all  the  docunients  appertaining  to  or 
issued  during  the  Fifty-second  Congress  can  not  be  less  than  5,000  tons,  or  10,000,000 
pounds. 

Under  the  existing  .system  most  of  these  documents,  before  they 
leave  the  city  on  the  way  to  their  final  destination,  must  be  transferred 
first  from  the  bindery  to  the  Congressional  or  departmental  folding 
rooms,  then  from  these  folding  rooms  to  the  post-office,  and  finally  from 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS.  17 

the  post-ortice  to  the  railway  station,  necessitating'  tlieir  being'  Imndled 
at  least  seven  times.  This  is  equivalent  to  the  loading,  unloading,  and 
wagon  transportation  from  one  place  to  another-  of  15,000  tons,  or 
30,000,000  pounds,  aiul  to  the  single  handling  of  S.JjOOO  tons,  or  70,000,000 
pounds,  of  the  public  documents  of  a  single  Congress. 

By  the  establishment  of  a  bureau  of  documents,  as  suggested,  how- 
ever, with  railway  tracks  adjacent  thereto,  the  labor  and  expense  of 
this  multiplied  hauling  and  handling  of  documents  can  be  vastly 
reduced.  The  documents  would  then  be  delivered  by  the  bindery  to 
the  bureau,  and  by  the  bureau  to  the  mail  car,  without  the  intervention 
of  any  wagon  transportation  whatever,  and  with  the  least  jiossible 
amount  of  handling  of  individual  volumes. 

When  regarded  from  a  business  point  of  view,  there  seems  to  be  no 
single  legitimate  objection  to  the  establishment  of  such  a  bureau  of  dis- 
tribution, subserving,  as  it  must,  the  general  convenience,  and  result- 
ing, as  it  may  readily  be  made  to  do,  in  a  large  saving  of  public  money. 
It  is  certain  that  if  this  were  the  business  of  an  individual,  and  not  of 
the  Government — if  the  expenses  were  paid  from  a  private  purse  and 
not  from  the  public  treasury — the  clumsy  and  costly  system  now  in  force 
would  not  be  tolerated  a  single  day. 

It  is  obje<*ted  to  the  establishment  of  a  buieau  of  documents  that  it 
will,  in  some  wiiy,  interfere  with  the  rights  and  prerogatives  of  mem- 
bers of  Congress  and  heads  of  dei»artments  and  bureaus,  and  put  in 
jeopardy  certain  privileges  now  enjoyed  by  them.  This  objection,  how- 
ever, is  absolutely  without  foundation.  What  can  the  head  of  the 
bureau  of  documents  do  in  this  direction  that  can  not  now  be  done  by 
the  superintendents  of  the  Senate  and  House  folding  rooms?  What- 
ever privileges  are  granted  by  law  would  continue,  and  it  would  be 
very  easy  for  Congress  to  formulate  such  regulations  for  application  in 
the  daily  administration  of  the  bureau  as  would  secure  each  member 
the  full  enjoyment  of  these  privileges.  No  document  belonging  to  the 
quota  of  any  Senator  or  Representative  would  be  distributed  except 
upon  his  order,  and  then  not  without  having  his  "compliments"  or  his 
autograph  attached,  or  without  its  being  accompanied  by  information 
that  it  is  sent  upon  his  order,  thus  securing  to  him  all.  the  credit  and 
honor  attaching  to  the  gift. 

Should  any  Senator  or  Representative,  as  would  undoubtedly  some- 
times be  the  case,  desire  to  witlidraw  the  whole  or  a  portion  of  his 
quota  of  any  document  from  the  bureau  for  the  purpose  of  personally 
su])ervising  its  distribution,  or  of  attaching  his  frank  to  the  individ- 
ual volumes  with  his  own  hands,  this  could  be  done  as  readily  as  under 
the  existing  system.  During  sessions  of  Congress  such  telephonic  and 
messenger  service  should  be  provi<k'd  as  the  convenience  of  members 
requires,  so  that  their  orders  could  rc;ich  the  bureau  and  be  executed 
with  the  least  possible  delay. 

The  same  remarks  apj)ly  to  the  heads  of  departments  and  offices  of 
the  Government  whose  (piotas  of  documents  would  be  held  for  distri- 
bution by  the  bureau.  Their  privileges  should  and  could  be  just  as 
carefully  guarded  in  every  pai'ticular,  and  whatever  advantages  are 
sup])osed  to  accrue  from  their  direct  distribution  of  documents  should 
in  all  the  correspondence  and  other  acts  of  the  bureau  be  secured  to 
them.  All  these  things  are  mere  matters  of  detail  in  the  administration 
of  the  bureau,  and  it  is  believed  can  be  readily  arranged  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  all  concerned. 

It  is  also  urged  as  an  objection  to  the  proposed  plan  that  probably 
certain  members  of  Congress  would  be  unwilling  to  submit  to  the  head 
8880  p  D 2 


18  SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS. 

of  the  bureau  lists  of  constituents  to  whom  they  wish  their  (h)caments 
sent,  lest  some  partisan  or  unfriendly  use  sliould  be  made  of  them. 
In  reply  to  this,  it  may  be  said  that  the  bureau  of  documents  is  the 
last  place  in  which  a  partisan  spirit  should  be  tolerated,  and  that  the 
least  attempt  to  make  use  of  lists  in  the  manner  indicated  should  meet 
with  summary  i)unishment.  This  can  be  provided  for  by  bureau 
regulations  or  by  Congressional  action.  In  the  second  place,  the  same 
objection  holds  against  submitting  lists  to  the  superintendents  of  the 
folding  rooms  of  the  two  Houses.  The  same  perverted  use  can  as 
readily  be  made  of  them  there  as  in  the  bureau  of  documents.  The  fact 
is,  however,  that  this  evil  is  probably  one  of  the  imagination  alone. 
In  the  third  place,  if  any  member  of  Congress  fears  that  his  lists  will 
not  be  treated  confidentially  by  the  bureau,  or  if  for  any  reason  he 
prefers  that  no  one  shaj[l  know  what  disposition  he  makes  of  his  docu- 
ments, he  will  always  be  at  liberty,  as  now,  to  withdraw  his  quota  and 
distribute  it  from  his  own  rooms. 

Objection  has  also  been  raised  against  a  bureau  of  documents  on  the 
alleged  ground  that  it  will  increase  the  expense  of  their  distribution; 
that  such  a  bureau,  once  established,  will  tend  to  grow  in  the  matter 
of  employes  altogether  bej^oud  the  necessities  of  the  service.  What 
has  been  already  said  is  perhaps  a  sufficient  reply  to  this  objection. 
The  saving  which  might  be  effected  in  the  single  matter  of  transporta- 
tion would  suttice  to  i)ay  a  large  portion  of  the  expenses  of  the  bureau, 
while  the  centralization  and  consolidation  of  the  whole  business  will,  if 
properly  conducted,  necessarily  render  it  possible  to  reduce  the  num- 
ber of  employes  required.  In  addition,  much  sjiace  now  occupied  by 
documents  in  the  Departments,  at  the  Capitol,  and  in  rented  buildings 
will  become  available  for  other  uses,  and  rent  now  being  paid  for  equiv- 
alent accommodations  cease.  In  a  building  constructed  especially  for 
the  purpose,  documents  can  be  stored  and  handled  much  nu)re  econom- 
ically, both  as  to  space  and  labor,  thau  in  the  ordinary  document 
rooms.  Furthermore,  the  luimber  of  emx)loyes  of  the  bureau  could  not, 
at  any  time,  exceed  that  which  Congress  deems  proper,  any  more  thau 
is  the  case  with  the  folding  rooms  of  the  Senate  and  House,  as  the 
number  must  be  determined  by  the  action  of  Congress  itself.  All  appre- 
hension ol'  extravagance  in  this  direction  is,  in  my  Judgment,  entirely 
without  foundation.  If  the  plan  suggested  is  ever  tried,  the  condition 
of  tilings  in  this  respect  will  be  fouiul  eminently  satisfactory  in  com- 
I)arison  with  that  which  now  exists. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  a  practice  which  is  approved  and  adopted 
in  the  interest  of  economy  in  the  transaction  of  almost  every  other 
large  business  should  be  questioned  and  refused  application  in  this,  as 
though  the  unitication  and  consolidation  of  this  whole  work  would 
result  in  larger  expenditures.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  altogether  proba- 
ble that  the  amount  saved  by  discontinuing  the  present  system  and 
establishing  a  single  bureau  of  documents  would  suttice  to  pay  nearly 
all,  if  not  the  entire,  expenses  of  its  administration. 

It  is  not  believed  that  any  possible  arguments  can  be  urged  against 
the  pro[)osition  here  submitted  which  can  justify  continuing  the  cum- 
bersome and  extravagant  system  now  in  vogue,  or  the  force  of  which 
would  not  be  quickly  dissipated  by  the  practical  operations  of  the 
bureau  of  documents,  which,  under  the  strictly  impartial,  upright,  and 
responsible  administration  of  its  att'airs  that  alone  should  be  tolerated, 
would  soon  vindicate  the  wisdom  of  its  establishment  by  introducing 
convenience,  order,  unity,  and  economy  into  this  by  no  means  unim- 
portant dei>artment  of  the  public  service. 

To  recapitulate,  the  reforms  above  suggested  are: 


SPECIAL    REPORT    RELATIVE    TO    PUBLIC    DOCUMENTS. 


19 


First.  A  cbauge  iii  the  binding  of  documents,  so  that  they  shall  pre- 
sent a  more  attractive  appearance. 

Second.  The  discontinuance  of  the  practice  of  issuing  the  same  doc- 
ument in  several  editions  with  differing"  titles. 

Third.  A  modihcation  of  the  classification  of  documents  in  the  inter- 
est of  simplicity  and  general  convenience. 

Fourth.  The  stopping  the  issue,  in  unbound  form,  of  documents  not 
required  for  immediate  use. 

Fifth.  The  preparation  of  a  general  comprehensive  index  of  all  pub- 
lic documents. 

Sixth.  The  utilization  of  documents  more  largely  in  the  interest  of 
public  libraries,  and  through  them  of  the  public  at  large. 

Seventh.  The  restriction  of  the  gratuitous  distribution  of  documents, 
and  more  satisfactory  provision  for  their  sale. 

Eighth.  The  establishment  of  a  bureau  of  documents  by  which  the 
whole  business  of  distributing  documents  shall  be  conducted. 

I  am  glad  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  i^rovisions  for  effecting" 
some  of  these  reforuis  are  embraced  in  the  printing  bill  which  has  been 
under  consideration  by  the  ])resent  Congress  and  is  now  in  conference. 

This  bill  provides  more  liberally  than  do  existing  laws  for  public 
libraries,  especially  those  which  are  designated  as  depositories  of  doc- 
uments, but  its  provisions  for  the  many  other  libraries  of  the  country 
are  inadequate.  It  also  provides  in  a  very  satisfactory  way  for  cata- 
logui-ng  and  indexing  all  future  publications  of  the  Government,  but 
makes  no  provision  of  this  character  for  those  already  issued.  This 
need  is,  however,  partially  met  by  a  separate  bill  now  under  consider- 
ation by  Congress. 

The  i^rinting  bill  also  favorably  modifies  the  classification  of  docu- 
ments, and  aims  to  prevent  hereafter  the  accumulations  of  undistrib- 
uted documents,  such  as  now  encumber  certain  folding  rooms  of  the 
Government.  As  a  whole,  the  bill  is  the  most  comprehensive  and  the 
best  relating"  to  this  subject  that  has  ever  been  presented  to  Congress, 
and  with  certain  modifications  which  can  yet  be  made,  not  in  the  least 
affecting  its  integrity,  its  enactment  into  a  law,  which  it  is  hof>ed  may 
be  speedily  accomplished,  will,  without  question,  subserve  the  conve- 
nience and  interests  of  all  concerned. 

That  other  changes  in  existing"  methods  of  dealing  with  the  subject 
of  public  documents  in  the  interest  of  economy  and  of  the  public  con- 
venience are  not  pi-ovided  for,  and  especially  that  the  generally  faulty, 
extravagant,  heterogeneous,  and  unbusinesslike  system  of  distributing 
documents  hitherto  prevailing  is  still  to  be  left  in  force,  is  much  to  be 
regretted. 

It  is,  perhaps,  not  too  much  to  hope  that  other  measures  necessary 
to  accomplish  all  these  reforms  may  soon  receive  the  attention  and 
approval  of  Congress,  and,  in  })articu]ar,  that  when  the  new  printing 
office,  the  erection  of  which  is  urged  alike  by  the  demands  of  the  pub- 
lic service  and  of  humanity,  shall  be  provided  for,  the  plan  may  embrace 
within  its  scope  the  erection  also  of  an  adjacent  buildiug,  in  which  shall 
be  centralized  and  conducted,  in  accordance  with  approved  business 
methods,  the  whole  work  of  distributing  the  publications  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. 

Very  respectfully, 

John  G.  Ames, 
Superintendent  of  Documents. 

Hon.  Hoke  Smith, 

Seeretari/  of  the  Interior. 


U    C    BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


fiili 


Gayiamount 

Pamphlet 

Binder 

Gaylord  Bros..  Inc. 

ij        Stockton,  Calif. 

<)    T.  M.  Reg.  U.S.  Pat.  Off. 


f5i72797 


7^32. 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


I 


